Improvement in railroad-signals



I. ROBBINS. RAILROAD-SIGNAL.

N 177.561. Patented May 16,1316.

ATTORNEY NIFETERS, PHOYO-LITHOGRAPNER, WASHIflGYON, D. C.

' UNITE]; STATES PATENT OFFICE. I

IRA ROBBINS, OF HUeHEsvILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILROAD-SIGNALS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 1 77,561, dated May 16,1876; application filed April 24, 1876. i

To all whom it may concern: V

Be it known that I, IRA ROBBINS, of Hughesville, in the county ofLycoming and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and ImprovedSlide-Signal for Railroads; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, inwhich- I Figure 1 is'a side elevation of my invention applied to arailway-track, showing it, free from obstruction. Fig. 2 is a frontelevation of the device on the right-hand side of the railway-track,signaling danger; Fig. 3, a similar view on the left-hand side of therailwaytrack, in the position shown in Fig. 1.

The invention consists in erecting, along mountain or hillsides, wherethere is danger of slides of earth, rocks, or stones, aseries of posts,between which suitable panels are hinged, either above or below, as the'case may require, so as to connect with signals near the track. Thesepanels may be extended any distance required along a mountain wherethere is danger of slides, afterwhich a single small wire isextendedboth ways tothe signal.

The latter is not made visible to the engineer of a train of cars unlessa slide has occurred, when the wires are pulled V by the force of theslide striking any one of panels or sections, and the signalis raised.The engineer thus has time to stop the train before running into theslide. These panels may be from sixteen to twenty .feet long, and fromtwo to ten feet high, according to-the nature of the situation-wherethey are to be put up.

A represents a railroad-track, which is encompassed on both or eitherside by a mountain, hill, oracclivity. B is a series of posts,

placed at a suitable distance apart, and each pendicular attitude withthe broad side facing the direction of the track. By carrying thesignal-plate Gr backward into a horizontal plane, the catch-shoulderobtains a bearing upon it, so that it is retained in that position. Thelower lever-arm c is connected with that of another lever 01" levers bya cord, E and thence with another spring-catch, so that a slide strikingany of the panels will have the effect of raising the signal in time towarn an approaching train of its danger.

I claim as new is- 1 The combination of bottom-hinged panel D, levers(l, and spring-catches F with signals Gr, connected by cords or wires,substantially as shown and described, for the purpose specifled.

IRA ROBBINS.

Witnesses J. CLINTON HILL, SoLoN O. KEMQN.

Having thus described my invention, what I

